From the Tapestry of my Memories

    Mrs. Lily George is a venerable old lady of 80 who leads a quiet life at “Lily Lynne”
in the Statue – General Hospital road in Thiruvananthapuram. She was born on 3rd October, 1920. She was given a proper basic education in good English medium schools. She studied up to her intermediate in St. Theresa’s College, Ernakulam. Her studies were terminated following a rumour that the college was going to be shifted from there. She became the wife of Mr.J.George, son of J.R. James, Saleme Bungalow, Pattom, Trivandrum. He was Senior Analytical Chemist in ARAMCO, Saudi Arabia from 1954 to 1968 and the family availed itself of the facilities offered by the company. Mrs. Lily George worked there in an Indo-Pakistani School at Rahima along with an American lady and helped in managing it. After retirement Mrs. and Mr. George moved to “Lily Lynne”, Statue and it was there that in accordance with her husband’s wish Mrs. Lily started a nursery to help employed mothers. The idea to start a crèche was inspired by the memories of the difficulties she and her husband had experienced when their children were young. Mr. George helped her with all sorts of suggestions, but unfortunately he fell ill and they had to give up the idea. After his demise in 1971, Mrs. Lily took it up again and by his 2nd death anniversary on the 3rd of August, 1973, she was able to get the crèche inaugurated by Father Kuncheria. It was named Sunbeams and was the first of its kind in the city. Mrs. Lily George has the gratification
that many working women have benefited from her endeavour.

       Mrs. Lily George is a remarkable woman, a personification of perseverance. Now she
is engaged in writing her autobiography, as well as a history of medieval Kerala. As she says, her prime aim in writing the history is to bring home the importance of her own culture, tradition and history. She has done considerable research on the subject and has travelled throughout Kerala to collect data. Her literary excursions led her to discover exciting facts about her ancestors and she has traced her roots back to the Gowda Saraswath Brahmins of Vypeen, in Kochi. Her autobiography has the elements of romance and mystery in it which retain the reader’s interest. It displays an exceptional command of the English language, which is surely a product of her vociferous reading habit which was instilled in her by her mother. Reproduced below is a section from her autobiography which highlights her individual style of writing.

MY CHILDHOOD DAYS IN OUR ANCIENT

HOME VALIYAVEED IN SOUTH VYPEEN

       Valiyaveed in those days was surrounded by canals quite deep, on the east, west and south whereas on the north only a fence separated the land of my father and his eldest brother Andhi. His other brothers, Kochuvarkey and Gabriel had their land further to the east of my father’s, extending to the south, close to the Portuguese Colony, Centred around the Vypeen church. But when the two of them got married, the former from Karumancherry, Ezhupunnah and the latter from Parakattil, Pallithode, they sold their properties in Vypeen and joined their wives. There were two approaches to Valiyaveed then, one from the Vypeen Jetty consisting of rowing boats until the shrine of St.Teresa and the lane immediately on its south which brought you to the gate house of Valiyaveed joined by a strong broad bridge, fixed on cement platforms in the centre of the eastern canals. A lane opposite the shrine to the east, brought you to the other branch of Valiyaveed, then known as KizhakkeVeedu and a few steps to the north of it, to the colony of the Gowda Saraswath Brahmins in South Vypeen. The other approach was through the front path of the historical Bishop’s House, the gates of which were always found locked, across the church front to the cemetery lane and the road to it took you to the last of the Portuguese houses and to our land. It’s northern granite boundary wall and the fence next to it presented the narrowest lane you will ever come across and further west was the house of P.J. Alphonse, who for some offence he did in his trade business, spent the most part of his life in jail. The fence referred to happened to be the southern boundary of the house and compound of my father’s maternal uncle. My grandfather Thomman and his brother Mammy were the only two members of the Valiyaveed family. Thomman married Anna, a first cousin of the famous writer V.S. Andrew and daughter of Jorries and Mariam of Vazhakkoottathil house, in Chellanum Parish. Since Anna made it a condition that one of her brothers should live somewhere near her house so that she could have his company always, her husband, got built a spacious house beyond the south east corner of his compound and put a bridge over the eastern canal which enabled the two sisters-in-law to meet and chat whenever they liked as well as go to church or hospital or any function together. This house had become a haven not only to my grandmother’s generation, but to my mother’s, as well as mine. I still remember with pleasure the regal – looking old lady with her beaming smile and frank concern for us. Her only daughter was mature and unmarried, pious to the core, who never missed the morning mass in our church, very capable, diplomatic and efficient and in response to a request from the British Government through the then Municipal Chairman, Sri.K.B.Jacob, in the early twenties to spread education wherever possible, took upon herself the responsibility of running a Nursery School in her spacious house and compound, which was attended by the whole lot of children around. My mother got me enrolled in this school when I was hardly three years old along with my elder sister Aanie, who was only a year senior to me but was very frail then. The old lady who was Ammamma to us sat somewhere in the middle of the extraordinarily high, carpeted Kolai on her comfortable cushion, facing the spacious yard, most suited for an ideal nursery and, beyond was our long canal where people kept on wading up and down. It provided a pleasant diversion to both Aanie and me. Particularly as she made us sit on either side of her, right when we started it, in order to acquaint us with everything. Chittamma rang the bell sharp at 9 A.M. and the children stopped playing and assembled in the thekini open on three sides and covered by thatties for prayer followed by religious singing. The studies started thereafter.

       Off and on the bell rang and the children came out and played ‘gudu-gudu’, ‘am I right’?, ‘round and round’, ‘Jacob and Rachel’ and so on. It was very pleasant to watch them in their gay mood. No feigned cry was ever heard around, except shouts of joy and laughter and we enjoyed every bit of it. At noon most of the children went home to have lunch and to the few who remained, their mothers brought their lunch and fed them in the centre verandhah of the thekini. As for Aanie and me, our mother left us in the Nursery in the mornings and in the afternoons our old servant Bastian volunteered to fetch us home, as well as look after us till evening as we were not sent back to the Nursery in the afternoons. Bastian entertained us with his fun and frolics and the traditional stories of Kappiri Muthappan, sitting on the topmost branch of the tallest tree in our compound with a glowing cigar in his mouth watching little children at play. Also of child kidnappers, pirates etc. Aanie used to join us in the beginning, but later on, she preferred my mothers’ company and went to sleep. Detecting my keen interest in stories, Bastian was utilising this time to get me acquainted with the adventure stories of our ancestor, in duty bound to him, so that it may not be forgotten as ‘shrouded in mystery’. By the time I was four I could understand better and he took me to our ancient Elanji tree in line with our kitchen and showed me the Brahmin colony, children at play in their backyard with shouts of joy and laughter, while some of their elders tended to their cows and still others looked after their vegetable garden. By and by, he was introducing me to the adventure stories of our ancestor, whom he referred as the ‘Chief of our Tharavad’ who came from Goa with his parents, relatives, friends and a horde of trusted servants, who carried a brass box full of gold coins earned from his flourishing trade there. The chief among the servants was Bastin’s own great, great grandfather, who was also the ancestor’s personal attendant and that was how he was still in our service. They were allotted a house and compound in our property and when his turn came, he lived there with his wife, three daughters, Mariam, Elaisa and Kathreena and a son Mighel. Of these Kathreena got married and lived in some other place and Mighel took up a job elsewhere leaving behind the older girls with their widower father in our service. My parents were always obliged to their family and supported them liberally. Old Bastian was indeed grateful for everything but the cautious way in which he dealt with the topic of the Brahmin colony, only a stone’s throw to the north-east of Valiyveed and the link he tried to establish between the two, often made me feel that my father did not want to recognise them and my mother kept quiet about it just because they were not Christians like us. Anyway, later on, I realised that Bastian depended entirely on me to bring out this truth, after studying carefully about it when I grow up, and establish the exact connections. Bastian was getting feeble by and by and when we returned from our annual visit to our grandparents in Kunnel, Thuravoor, with our mother, the noble soul was gone for his eternal home. Had it not been to our dear, old Bastian I would never have known about the existence of these ancestors of mine and discovered its details later on. Four months after my sixth birthday in October, my mother also passed away leaving me bereft of her love and care. My grandparents took away Aanie and Andrew and the new born baby girl leaving Francis just younger to me and myself with father. The baby girl lived only for six months and saved herself the agony of living without a mother. The reading habit which my mother had cultivated deep in me came to my rescue now and since her cupboard as well as my father’s were full of books, I never lacked material for reading. At the nursery Chittamma had taught me to read and write Malayalm fluently and repeat tables correctly before I was five. I still have a letter my father had written to my grandfather in Kunnel about it. Offen I took Francis out into our compound full of majestic looking grand old trees and while he kept an eye on for the innumerable, beautiful, lovely feathered birds perched on their branches, imitating their singing which was his hobby, I went about picking or plucking fruits which were plenty on our trees. In the evenings I usually watched the Brahmin children at play in their backyard with shouts of joy and laughter which I could do from one of our kitchen windows without much ado

       My father had two daughters by his first marriage, Mary, born in 1907 and Lucy, two years later. Unfortunately, their mother passed away when Mary was eight years old and as per a vow her parents had taken before our Lady of Vallarpadam after they had lost three baby sons who were still born successively, that their next child, if it were a boy, would be sent for priesthood or if it were a girl, to the convent to become a nun, when our paternal grandmother had also passed away shortly afterwards, Mary was sent to the convent at Kattiparambil to be educated to become a nun, while Lucy was taken away by her grandparents to Kurishunkal , Alleppey to be brought up there by them. After my mother’s demise, Lucy was brought back home by my father and she took over our household affairs with the help of Juana, wife of our tenant Bastian, who lived, just across our eastern canal on the south-west corner of the famous thorn-fence of the Brahmin colony. Juana’s father Andhrayose, who was the descendant of one of those who accompanied the Chief from Goa, also lived in the same row of houses as his son-in-law, Bastian, but further east. As all his ancestors before Bastian had lived on the same spot as he did, there was no doubt he was quite familiar with the age-old traditions of the Brahmin colony. So, I approached him and made him take over from where old Bastian had stopped. Now that I was seven, I could understand better. What he told me in addition was that, the Chief though very young, was a great organiser, efficient and capable and maintained friendly contacts with the king and the Portuguese whose colony was next to his. The Sarawaths who had come very much earlier in 1294 and had settled down in Narakkal, Edavanakaud etc. recognised him as their leader too and the king was very much pleased, as the trade he had established with other countries brought immense prosperity to Cochin. Recognising his all-round abilities, the king conferred upon him, the right of civil and criminal jurisdiction within the area which they called Sanketham and made it hereditary for his family. Being far-sighted, extraordinarily intelligent and industrious, he wished to safeguard this honourable position by training his only son to be worthy of the honour. With this intention he got constructed a separate house for him, just a stone’s throw to the south-west of his tharavad and named it Valiyaveed. Being a lover of plants and trees he utilised his friendship and neighbourly relationship with the Portuguese to select the best of seeds and seedlings imported by them from Brazil and other countries to promote their growth in India. He himself planted them around Valiyaveed grounds in good perfect order, so that his progeny never lacked in fruits. That was the Valiyaveed, I was born into, though in its very last existence. But in its prime it had been the pride and pleasure of the whole island. Had it not been to the two Bastians in my life, I would never have known about these ancestors of mine and their connection with Valiyaveed, which was termed as ‘shrouded in mystery’. According to them, the land which yielded all these blessings to us was purchased by my ancestors from PaliathAchans who were made indispensable to the Vypinites not only through their ownership of land, but also because they endeared themselves to them through their contribution towards the re-building of the Church of Vallarpadam, originally constructed by the Portuguese, but which was destroyed by the heavy floods in the Periyar river in 1676. There is a miraculous story in connection with the beautiful picture of Our Lady found floating in the river when the church collapsed. Try as much as they would, the picture slipped out of the hands of the people around, until one day, Paliath Achan while crossing the river on his way to Chennamangalam chanced to see it. Attracted by the brightness around it, he asked his men to row the boat towards it. When he put out his hand to take it, the picture kept still and strangely enough raised itself into his hand. Feeling there was something divine about this picture, he entrusted it to the Christians in Vallarpadam and not only gave them land and money to rebuild the church, but also a traditional brass lamp for its dedication which the parishioners kept burning day and night out of respect, regard and gratitude for Paliyam and PaliathAchans.

       My father was a great devotee of Our Lady of Vallarpadam and often went there with his wife to pray since they had lost three baby sons, and afterwards were blessed with Mary and Lucy. Juana who was in our service, often cheered us with her singing and dancing, knowing we had lost our mother recently, but she was herself nursing a grief within, as she had lost at least half a dozen children still born to them as there were no hospital facilities in Vypeen. She and her husband were constant devotees at the shrine of our Lady of Vallarpadam until at last almost in their old age, they were blessed with a girl, whose progeny now lives in their house. There were still others who were blessed in the like manner. There was yet another miracle to fortify the faith of the believers in Our Lady. Palliyil Meenakshi Amma, a nair lady along with her husband and baby son was crossing the ferry to Vallarpadam sometime in 1952 to pay homage to Our Lady and ask for blessings for their child, when suddenly due to a storm the boats capsized and many were drowned. As Meenakshi Amma was sinking, clutching her baby son to her bosom, she prayed to Our Lady and vowed she would spend the rest of her life in the church yard serving Our Lady by sweeping her yard clean and helping her devotees, if she and her son were saved. Both were miraculously saved and she lived up to her promise until the last day of her life and the grateful parishioners got made a picture of her carrying her baby in her arms and kept it near Our Lady’s as a permanent token of her supreme faith in the mother of Jesus. Her own people in facilitation started supplying drinks of buttermilk to every pilgrim on feast day, free of cost, but gradually it was taken over by the parish itself. September 24th , the feast day of Our Lady of Vallarpadam, was a day of great importance and rejoicing to the Christian families in south Vypeen. There was not a single home which did not make a pilgrimage to this shrines starting from early dawn. By evening fire-works were heard around and neighbours exchanged sweets, sugar-cane, nercha etc. Far into the night they sang from the pamphlets they brought along with them like the “VillarvattomPanas” and the “Vallarpadam Matha”. The general talk of this place was about the innumerable blessings Our Lady had bestowed upon her devotees.

       Now a few words about the other branch of Valiyaveed which was Kizhakkeveedu to the two families, and which belonged to Thomman’s brother Mammy. He married from one of the Kurishinkal families in Arthinkal and had a son, Francis, who was very much like my father in looks, especially in his old age. Francis married Saveena from another branch of the Kurishinkal family in Arthinkal and one of her three daughters, the second of them became a nun, Sr. Sicilia of Our Lady’s convent, Palluruthy and I was under Saveena’s guardianship as a boarder when I did my high school in St. Sebastian’s in Palluruthy. Saveena also had two sons, Robert and Michael and while Robert had no children, one of Michael’s three or four sons, Francis, his grandfathers namesake, was very much interested in Vypeen history as when I first met him at his house in 1991 and he and his progeny are the only remaining Valiyaveed members in Vypeen. Saveena in her time was considered another great blessing to the Vypinites in that she was a renowned devotee of Our Lady. A picture of Our Lady similar to the one at Vallarpadam shrine was set up and honoured in her house with a hanging brass lamp lighted before it day and night. This brought many people around to pray before the picture along with her and every one of them was sure their prayers were heard by Our Lady. She was a very kind person and did whatever she could to help the needy. She was almost a second mother to us after my mother’s demise. I can never forget the way she took care of my baby sister keeping her on her lap most of the time and the way she fed her honey and water and cow’s milk at intervals in a feeding bottle for almost a fortnight while my mother lay sinking in her low cot and my grandmother sat beside her patting her forehead and attending to her needs. All of a sudden, one night, my mother wanted to kiss each of us and when my turn came she told me to study well and look after my father. Then, we were asked to go to bed. Almost at the dead of night father broke out wailing so loud that we all got up from our sleep and ran to mother. She was lying calm and quiet. Only after the body was taken away for the funeral, attended by both her paternal and maternal uncles and a cousin who was a priest, together with those of the parish, did I realise that we will never see her again. It was valiyamma again who remained with us to comfort us. After a few days, baby along with Aanie and Andrew were taken away by my grandparents to Manakodam, Thuravoor, to be brought up there, while, Francis and I stayed at home with father. Within six months or so, the baby girl died. When father was away on some business or the other, our immediate tenants like Jussey and Thresia, Lazar and Maria, Anthony and Thekla as well as Bastian and Juana were always at our beck and call. Old Maria always slept with us and endeared herself to us by entertaining us with her old stories. Our Ammama and Chittamma were also our great comfort, just as Saveena our valiyamma was to us.

       Our tenants who lived beyond our western canal, where it was not possible to have a well or pond dug, being too close to the sea had to be content with the only existing ponds which contained only salt water. So they were allowed to draw water from our well or pond and as a special consideration, were allowed a closet of cadjian leaves near our western gate, so that the women could bathe inside while their friends took turns to draw water for them. Their children were bathed inside or under the trees and women carried water for their menfolk and the aged, as a rule. Maria, the children’s maid used to bring the children to bathe and I used to pass out parcels of olives, apples, rose, water, etc., as their mother and mine were good friends, and they were grateful for it. I always kept some ready for others as well. The soap – nuts I used to pick up from under our trees was a most welcome gift to the women, who made a sort of shampoo out of them to bathe their head. They were grateful for it too.

       In those days chavittunatakam introduced by the Portuguese in order to compensate for bharathanatiyam, koothu and koodiyattam, the entertainments prevalent in temples and often witnessed by Christians as well, became a very spontaneous item of amusement with the Vypinites as well as the Cochinites. It represented the wonderful exploits of the Christian brothers, Charlemagne and Caralman against several nations termed by them as ‘Moors’ in general. Their glittering costumes, head gears and flashing swords, with Valdeene as the hero and Seevalya as the heroine became a craze among our people, and, the harder they kicked to merit the spirit involved in the word chavittunadakam, the better it was appreciated by all. A special enclosure with a stage, on the south-west corner of our compound was allotted to them to practise not only chavittunadakam, but also Christmas songs and well as devastha during Lent times. Since the enclosure had access from outside our fence, the actors assembled there according to their convenience either in the day or in the night. We had an occasional get together in our front yard either for a show of chavittunadakam or for a singing with prayers on the last day of vanakkamasam when fire-works were displayed and eats, prepared by the women of our tenants in our kitchen were served for all. Our relations also attended these functions without fail. At other times it would be just a gathering for a magic show or some such performance by outsiders and we all enjoyed them. Most of our tenants were employees of Brunton and Co., Aspinwall, Darragh Ismail, Pierce Leslie, Volkhart Brothers etc., and some of them, skilled shipyard workers too, while the rest fishermen. Except for coconuts, aracanuts and pepper, none of the produces of Valiyaveed, grown on our ancient majestic looking trees, as well as the vegetables and different tubers cultivated by my father at every nook and corner of our compound were ever sold, but were distributed among our friends, relations as well as tenants. I myself picked or plucked whatever I could and shared them with those who came to draw water from our compound, as a rule. The only exception was, my passing packets of fruits to the girls who lived in my cousin Thommachan’s property near the north-west corner of our compound. There were half a dozen fair, beautiful girls, some of whom studied with me at our catechism class on Sundays. Their parents who were from Kottayam, had come to settle down in Vypeen since their father worked in Volkhart Brothers, Cochin.

AN ACCOUNT OF HOW VALIYAVEED AND ITS MAJESTIC
LOOKING ANCIENT TREES PRESENTED A PLEASANT
PICTURE AS YOU WENT AROUND IT, SIX AND A HALF
DECADES AGO, TO BE EXACT

       The majestic-looking, huge, tall trees on all four sides of Valiyaveed made it look great, magnificent, serene and unique in the island of Vypeen. Valiyaveed in itself was a simple, elegant, purely Hindu construction most unlike the Portuguese structures close by. As a matter of fact, Valiyaveed represented the three foreign regimes in India. Its famous trees were the result of the Portuguese interests as they were the first promoters of seeds and seedlings from other countries like Brazil and the items were such as anjili, bread fruit, cashew, cocums, pineapple, papaya, mangoes etc. Since our ancestor maintained good and friendly relations with his Portuguese neighbours he could select the best of these items and plant them around Valiyaveed in the exact places he chose. The Dutch, in their time, introduced the canals in order to improve production of coconuts and since their experiments carried out around Valiyaveed resulted not only in the yield of coconuts but also in the healthy glow and abundant yield of the trees of Valiyaveed. The many coloured crottons with which my father had made a beautiful hedge at a marked place around the house to separate it from the compound and reserved a children’s corner with a swing. to the south-west of the house as you entered, gave it a modern, attractive look as the place was swept clean every day. No doubt it was a British influence of the time. As you crossed the threshold of the gate-house and walked a few steps to your left, you came face to face with the first tree of Valiyaveed, a thin old Jack tree, which bore large size jack fruit from top to bottom. Almost on level with it, the crotton hedge started and continued all around leaving gate space at the required place. In the compound space on your left were three mango trees ‘Thenmavu’ and ‘Karpooramavu’ nearest to our eastern fence, while the third, ‘Chakaracy’ towards the hedge forming a triangle and all three were of the finest variety. From the corner bridge onwards was the soap-nut tree, Urinchika near which was a small deep pond to water the vegetables grown there. Then on were the cashew, bilimbi, korka, custard, apple trees etc., and towards the hedge in the centre was our Vallakkumavu which yielded mangoes as big as an unhusked coconut, once a year. As you reached the swimming pond in the middle of the southern compound there was a tree near its bank which we called ‘Pananchiya’. It had thick dark green, small round leaves, fragrant cream flowers of a particular design and round, ball-like fruits in different shades of maroon, hanging down in great abundance. It presented a most beautiful sight, particularly when you relaxed on the rock in the middle of the pond. The fruits were not edible, but when boiled and strained, constituted a first grade gum to strengthen fishing nets most useful to some of our tenants. Beyond this tree within the fence were three anjili trees in a line. Perched on the branches of these trees to eat their ripe fruits were all sorts of beautiful feathered birds singing their wonderful songs. Women of our tenants from our western land often took turns to sweep the place clean and while the skin of the fruit was utilised as manure for the coconut trees around, the seeds were collected, fried in hot sand and when cleaned, by a special process, made a delicious treat. They always brought some for me. Further down on the banks of our western canal, within the fence were three more anjili trees along with a cinnamon tree, huge in size and people from far and near came to fetch its twigs, leaves etc., for medicinal purposes. Another rare, unforgettable sight which welcomed you even from our gate if the front and back doors of the main hall of our house were open, was a medium, thick shrub of dark green, tiny leaves covered with beautiful white flowers mingled with green and red berries, which looked almost like a giant bouquet. It would certainly have inspired lovers of nature as well as poets to produce a whole lot of their work in praise of the Creator. This ancient shrub, pasnanarakam, was a speciality planted at such an angle by our ancestor. Close to it was our sambrani tree which when a cut was made on it the previous day, a substance oozed out of it which, when dried and burnt, filled the air with lovely fragrance. Our most favourite olive tree which yielded the biggest olives throughout the year stood a few yards to the west of our swing with its stocky roots visible from far while, its tall branches spread high and wide and every time we passed under the tree, we were sure to kick up some ripe olives. A fortnight before we left Valiyaveed, the tree fell, to my greatest grief. There were also two ancient cocum trees, one on the north-west corner of our western canal and the other, a quarter way up our northern fence, both full of fruits as they were of the ancient group while, younger trees grew here and there. Early in the morning I used to get up and pick among the other fruits, the cocums as well. While the outer coverings were preserved by drying them in the sun, to make tasty fish curries, the seeds inside contained a delicious sweet and sour juice to suck. Our middle pond on the north used for multi purposes, was utilised for planting pineapples all around its banks, which also yielded the best of pineapples throughout the year. Our huge cotton tree stood nearer to the kitchen and six months before my mother expired, the tree fell and part of it damaged our kitchen. The dining room next to it was converted into the kitchen then on. I started utilising the damaged portion to carry on with my hobby of reading and my mother helped to make it more comfortable for me. In the evenings I could watch from there the children of the colony at play in their backyard. In line with the portion where I sat reading was our most ancient and most revered elanji tree, the importance of which was initiated into me by both the Bastians in my life. The Chief of the Tharavad who planted this tree was very fond of it and also attached great importance to it. Hence every one had a special regard for it.

       The Chief brought up his only son as the apple of his eye and got him acquainted with everything in and around aliyaveed, which he got furnished and ready for use. When he got him married and was about to shift into the new house, the Dutch come into power after defeating the mighty Portuguese who had rules India for 163 years. At Fort Cochin it was a life and death struggle for both the Dutch and the Portuguese. When the long expected reinforcements, magazines and victuals failed to arrive the Portuguese were forced to surrender. The Dutch drove away all the Catholics from the fort and destroyed their churches and all their religious institutions including the Santa Cruz Cathedral and reduced it to a godown. The Dutch vandalism made the Saraswaths alert and dreading some mishap, the elders among them forced their youths to escape to Udayamperur, the Chief’s son being one among them. Once there, he did not want to waste his time and joined the Vaipikotta Seminary and learnt many subjects from the foreign priests there, including Christian doctrines and precepts and in the end, became a Christian. On his return he discovered that his father was no more and was very sad. He prostrated before his mother, confessed everything, underwent the religious rites under this circumstances performed by his two uncles, and left the tharavad with his wife, young son and some of his father’s trusted servants to Valiyaveed. But before he left, he exacted a promise from his mother that she would give him her vision every morning after sun rise, standing at the back door of her house to which she agreed. The spot he selected from his side was near the Elanji tree. As soon as it was dawn and the sun visible, the Brahmin mother appeared at her back door and the Christian son was already waiting at the appointed place for his mother. For a few minutes they would look at each other, exchanging a world of news between themselves by looks alone. The agony and ecstasy they underwent within this time was termed as the ‘mother and son legend of Vypeen’ by the Vypinites. No doubt she kept her promise to the last day of her life, and of course her two brothers might have helped her in the last stage. So far, these facts I gathered were based only on tradition, and legends. I had no idea as to the names of even my own ancestry. Then, out of the blue, early in 1991, I came upon the real facts, which I consider as really God-sent, without which I would never have been able to proceed. One Mr. P.V. Kammath, a co-worker or so of my eldest son-in-law, Georgekutty Thomas Puthusserry, son of late Mr. P.C.Thomas of the Ezhan family in Changanacherry, who was the station engineer of DooradarsanKendram, Trivandrum then had come to see him on some business. My daughter Molly, Georgekutty’s wife and myself were introduced to him. I was very glad to hear that he was from Vypeen and knew all about the Saraswath Brahmin colony in Vypeen. On account of my great interest in Vypeen, he sent me a book through my son-in-law which was named “The Souvenir of 1981 of Azheekal Sri VarahaDevaswom, Cherai” for my perusal. Imagine my great surprise and pleasure when I actually came upon all the solid proofs I wanted from two articles, one written by Prof.V.V.SadanandaPrabhu on ‘Azheekal Sri Varahaevaswom: History of the Temple, a Glimpse’ and the other written by Mr. E.N. Sadananda Kammath on ‘Migration of Gowda Saraswath Brahmins to Goa and Kerala’. How can I say it was not godsent when I had waited for it all my life? The former who was M.A., LL.B., B.Ed. writes thus, ‘Among them there was one Krishna Prabhu of KasyapaGotra, a wealthy merchant, who was in possession of two idols or Sreevaraha and Sreevithoba. Both these idols were temporarily installed at Azheekal and has been worshipped since then. History tells us that along with these two temples there were two other Devalayas also at Azheekal owned by seven different Gowda Saraswath Brahmins. Within no time, Sreevaraha became the Gramadeva of the community. Krishna Prabhu purchased extensive plots of land at Vypeen from the Paliath Achans, who were in possession of all the landed properties at Vypeen at the time, for constructing godowns and a new temple for installing the Gramadeva of the community. The latter, E.N. Sadananda Kammath in his article, “Migration of Gowda Saraswath Brahmins to Goa and Kerala” states thus, “Among those who had left Goa with their families for Kerala during the exodus were Devaraya Kammath, Krishna Prabhu and VamanaPai. Kammath, one of the prominent and wealthiest merchants of Goa is stated to have brought such a large number of gold coins with him that it took two hundred persons to carry them. He purchased the village of Andikadavu from the ruler of Cochin. Krishna Prabhu settled down at Vypeen along with six other families. He purchased a large portion of the village of Vypeen from the Paliath Achans, the jenmis. Pai purchased Varapuzha from the Brahmin ruler of Parur, who was a feudatory of Cochin. ” The truth of these statements is proved beyond doubt. Some of these families are still in Azheekal, South Vypeen and at least a portion of the vast property mentioned above as having been bought by Krishna Prabhu from Paliath Achens could still be traced in all its integrity to the Christian family of Valiyaveed, just a stone’s throw to the west from the tharawad of Krishna Prabhu.

       Straightway I contacted the Director of Archives, Trivandrum, who sent me to the Archives at Ernakulam. The survey numbers I produced were 1077/2, 1097/2 and 1086/5, which I had fished out from old documents. I was directed to get in touch with Mr. N. Purushothama Mallaya, an authority on all matters relating to the Gowda Saraswath Brahmins at his residence at Temple Road, Cochin, which I did. I told him about my intention of writing a book about Valiyaveed in South Vypeen and that I was specially interested about the mother and son legend of Vypeen. He gave me a week’s time to contact him again and when I did, he told me that he had enquired about the Brahmin colony in South Vypeen and had found everything true, which gave me enough confidence to proceed. He was sympathetic towards my ambition and promised to help me if and when I needed his help. He also advised me it would be worth-while if I met Prof. V.V. Sadananda Prabhu at Cherai. So I went there and met him at the temple premises. When he knew that my intention in visiting him was in connection with his article in the Temple Souvenir of 1981, he took me and my two daughters in a taxi to his home and introduced us to his wife, two daughters and son. When I explained everything to him, they were very happy and extended their famous hospitality towards us as well. For further information he advised me to meet the present Mr. Shenoy of the existing Brahmin colony in South Vypeen, as he is the successor of Sri.Venkateswara Shenoy, the most prominent and famous of the Azheekal Shenoys who undertook to construct the modern innovations to the temple, like the Eastern Gopura, Anapandal, Shribalipuras, Agrasalas, Temple Tank, Kalyanamandapam and also achieved the dedications of necessary vahanas such as Aswavahana, Simhavahana, Hastinavahana and Garudavahana through donations of members. Imagine my surprise and pleasure to step on the spot which I held in high esteem from the time I was a baby. I thanked Almighty God and Mr. Prabhu for being instrumental in achieving this blessing for me. Both my daughters and I had a wonderful time in the company of both Mrs. and Mr. Shenoy, who welcomed us sincerely and whole heartedly. When I introduced ourselves to them with pleasure they listened to whatever I had to say about my topic. While she was in the kitchen making some coffee for us Mr. Shenoy took us in and out of all the rooms in the house with its black, polished, shining pillars, beautiful carvings, ancient and modern devices for fans adjusted in the same place and the ancient bell, hanging on one side of the main beam just as the Chief had in his house, all of which proclaimed the antique nature of it. While having coffee my daughters noticed, I had a cupboard of the same pattern and carvings as Mrs. Shenoy’s and both Mrs. Shenoy and I remembered at once the day of its sale at Cochin in her rented house in mid-fifties through an advertisement by her on the eve of her departure to Delhi to join her husband who was working there and this particular item was the last on the list. Having guessed right that the advertiser belonged to one of the many Brahmin families in the colony in South Vypeen, I hurried to buy whatever was available as a souvenir and this cupboard was my lot, which turned out to be my most favourite possession as it always brought me luck as well as childhood memories afresh. She was very happy to hear it and said the stars had designed it, whereas I took it as another coincidence contributing to our link. As I wished to see the playground I was so crazy about as a child, she took us around and I was delighted to find everything exactly as it was long, long ago, except for the tall, thick grass all around, minus the laughing, shouting and prancing youngsters I so admired. Somewhere at the entrance to the playground I found the remains of a wall which I touched solemnly thinking perhaps that was the spot where the Brahmin mother stood to give her Christian son, her vision as agreed by her when they parted from their tharawad. At the other end where the Christian son, owner of Valiyaveed was supposed to stand, there was no Elanji tree, no fence, no eastern canal and no Valiyaveed as well, but only three cent houses of his tenants. The mother and son legend of Vypeen is something unique which ought to be recorded in golden letters. Having come to know of this episode in my childhood and having lost my mother simultaneously, it gave me an impetus to nurture it all along, until it was brought to light but I had to wait patiently for evidence to come my way and when it did come I had to concentrate on other matters like attending to my brother Andrew who had come to Trivandrum for some treatment as well as carry on my routine work of looking after my creche and then, I had a fall which incapacitated me and that still continues. Going back to the Shenoys, they sincerely wished we should meet again. Mrs. Shenoy extended an invitation to us to fix a date and write to her so that she could take us to her house in Cherai and show us the places including the temple premises. Just when the three of us were about to leave, Mr. Shenoy remarked that I looked very much like his elder sister, who knew all about our ancestors and would have helped me with whatever I wanted to know but even that was six years too late then, as she had left for her eternal home. Anyway, we were very happy we had met such nice people.

THE CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH MY MOTHER
BECAME ENDEARED TO THE VYPINITES IN HER TIME

Prescilia, my mother, was highly respected by the Vypinites for a good turn she had done for them during the flood in Vypeen in 1924. Being the daughter of a renowned Ayurvedic physician, Kunnel Lonan Pillai Jacko, Manakodam, Thuravoor and the sister of a dedicated homeo doctor, K.J. David (Vavachan), she had both medicines in her cupboard and important herbs reared in pots hanging around her house. All our ailments so far were treated by her quite successfully and knowing this, our neighbours who were our tenants also brought their children to her and they were always cured of their illnesses to their delight. If at any time they showed a tendency to repay her in cash or kind, she told them she had nothing to lose or gain by extending them a favour. The news spread far and wide and when the flood visited them and they could not cross over to the Fort Hospital at Cochin, they brought their sick to my mother. Not only did she give them medicines for their immediate cure, but to the very sick, she even gave shelter right under her own roof, until they recovered with proper diet and rest. The people appreciated her service and were grateful to her for her kind and genuine regard for them at the time of their great need. A few years later this generosity was repeated again not by her as she was dead by then, but by her father, extremely devoted to his work. Having come to know from newspapers that Vypeen was on the verge of an attack of small pox, likely to spread far and wide, he fished out from his ara some very old ola grandhams and prepared both preventive and cure pills in big quantities. Just when that was getting ready he had news from my father that Francis, the apple of his eye on whom he had great expectations in life, had caught the disease already. At once my grandfather sent three experienced men, one, to take care of Francis, one, to be with my father as he was almost bed – ridden and the third, the bravest of them to carry the pills around and instruct the head of each family how to make the members take the pills and observe directions correctly. A cousin of my grand-father was sent along with them to accompany my step sister Lucy and me at once to Manakodam, all of which were carried out to the letter, only I insisted on seeing my brother before I left, but they would have none of it. Afterwards I learnt that he was down with fever and headache for three days and on the third day the pox appeared all over his body and he could not open his eyes as even his eyes were affected by it. He was in great pain for two more days and then he lost conscience, on the ninth day, which was a Wednesday, the 19 th of March, the feast day of St. Joseph, he passed away to my father’s great grief. It killed all his ambitions in life. Had Francis lived, I am sure our history would have taken a different turn altogether for the better.

       It was rumoured that no one stirred out of their houses during the epidemic, come what may. Municipal workers went around looking into the houses if they needed any help. The situation in the north was quite severe. When cries were heard from a house, it was taken as a signal to announce death and municipal workers went into the house and wrapped the body in the sheet or mat it was lying and carried it to the graveyard on a stretcher, where other workers had kept shallow graves ready for burial. Cracks were seen on some of these graves which was explained as the reason for the person having been buried in an unconscious state. Jussey and Thresisa our immediate tenants and most trusted too, had a daughter named Thassi who was a great favourite of ours. She contracted the disease and died almost at the same time as Francis, which took away the laughter from her mother’s life altogether. It broke her heart and her tears never stopped as long as she lived. Some of the pretty girls who lived with their parents on the north-west corner of our compound in cousin Thommachans land, and to whom I used to pass packets of fruits since I knew them in the catechism class on Sundays, contracted the disease and passed away at the same time as Francis and Thassi. Their father who was working at Volkhart Brothers, gave up his job and left with the rest of his family to Kottayam, from where he had come. After Francis died, both his care takers spent all their time visiting houses far and near, cautioning them about the dreadful disease and how the pills alone will save them. As my grandfather kept on replenishing the pills and as people had great faith in them for reasons explained earlier, the disease was completely under control in no time. Four decades after, some of these pills were found safely corked away in a jar in a specially concealed corner of the ara of the Kunnel house to everyone’s surprise. A relation who knew of it and also how it had helped cure many of the Viypinites, when the disease attacked them, approached uncle K.J.Varghese (Saya) the youngest brother of my mother, who was practising homeo in Arthinkal, his wife’s place, to go with him and fetch some of these pills from the Kunnel ara to save his wife. He agreed. The result was, she was saved along with her family and neighbours around, to the greatest surprise of everyone. Uncle Saya searched widly among the old ola granthams for the prescription, but failed and his progeny has kept some of the pills as a souvenir, for all I know.

MY LIFE IN MY MATERNAL HOME IN THURAVOOR,
CONSEQUENT TO THE SMALL POX EPIDEMIC IN VYPEEN AND
MY NEW FINDINGS UNDER THIS ENVIRONMENT

From the quiet surroundings I was used to in Vypeen, I had to get on with the noisy, busy and orderly life in the new place. Naturally, I stuck to my grandmother both day and night in the beginning, since Lucy was also taken by her grandparents to Chettikad. Before I go any further, it is best, I introduce my mother’s family here. Unlike my people in Vypeen which consisted of only a few members, my mother’s family in Thuravoor had a large number of members so that whichever direction you took you were sure to meet some of those uncles and aunties for sure. My grandfather had two brothers. One living close by with three sons and five daughters and their issues. His younger brother was a priest, Rev. Fr Abraham in whose land the Manakodam parishioners had built a school, taken care of by the kapiyar and his family near it. As for his sisters, the oldest was married to Odatha in Cochin, the second at Eeressery in Mararikulam and the third at Charankhat near Arthinkal, which was also his mother’s home. In those days, the larger the number of children in the family, the greater was their prestige. My grandmother was from Arakkal Kandakadavu, a very rich family and had nine sisters, all married into the leading families among our people. While her younger brother was the parish priest of Mannanam in Pavukkara, her elder brother had a large family scattered around, Parekattil, Pallithode included. As for her own daughters and sons, her oldest three girls, Victory, Sanj and my mother were married to rich landlords in Chethy, Mararikulam and Vypeen, respectively. Susanna, the fourth married Abraham Chenaparambil, an honest, upright, courageous and strict man of her own choice, with whom she worked for the church of Manakodam. He had no extra land except what he lived in and which shared with his only brother. Uncle David, the homeo specialist came next. Konchamma, unmarried, who was Valiyachy to us, was the heart and soul of all the activities in and around Kunnel House, while Emily along with Saya the youngest of the family, were studying and then working at their maternal uncle’s who was the parish priest of Mannanam in Pavukkara church. Lenamma, the eldest daughter of aunt Susanna, almost two years my junior was under the treatment of our grandfather, for asthma and was asked to stay with us under Valiyachy’s care, which made her very happy. Chenaparambath (not Chenaparambil), Puthenpurakkal, Thaiparambil, Achathara, Murikkumputtakkal, Mureenattukunnel, PadinjareVeetil, Aashariparambil (north) and Aashariparambil (south) were the branches of the Kunnel House. While the Manakodam school served as the alma mater for the younger generation of the Kunnel family, until it was terminated at last, the older generation including my mother was taught in the premises of my grandfather’s cousin, Emmanuel Puthenpurakal, by specially appointed teachers. And his well educated progeny continued his humanitarian work until many thousands benefited by it. May be it still continues, for all I know. I still have a great regard for this family of uncles and aunts, who were very fond of my mother and always treated me kindly. Had it not been for Aunt Awliaikutty who became a nun and died in the convent later, I would have surely drowned in their swimming pond. She saw me falling into the pond from far, ran and jumped into it and took me out. Due to recent rains, the water had swelled up and the sand on the bank was loose and Lenamma and I happened to be plucking flowers from the Erikku plant on its bank one fine morning when it occurred. There was a priest, uncle Awliaikutty also in the family. As a child when I was with my mother, I have heard my grandfather play violin in the church and his cousins sing along with him during church ceremonies and much later, their progeny conducting it.

       Aanie my elder sister was studying in the top class in our Manakodam school when I joined them during the epidemic in Vypeen. I was admitted in the third standard undertaken by Sri. Lakshmana Iyer, who taught us many new things and surprised me by keeping the school time, correctly, by merely looking at the sun’s position in the sky and then down at his own shadow. Lenamma was doing second standard., and was taught by Sri. Gopala Pillai, a strict disciplinarian whom every one held in awe, but was a constant visitor of my grandfather’s. My younger brother, Andrew was my grandfather’s pet, who never bothered about school. The kapiyar and family were very fond of Lenamma as her parents were their neighbours. They always tried to see to our comforts. There was an olive tree in the compound, which attracted me there, but the olives were only quarter size of our olives in Vypeen. Opposite to their house on the south was the Puliampilly house where my class mate and friend Olandi lived. What I loved best about the school premises was its golden sand into which our feet went deep. Valiyachy welcomed us when we returned from school and gave us nice things to eat as well as sent us our lunch to school, which Shanku brought to us. Valiyachy being very conscientious and considerate, shouldered all the responsibilities of the house so that her elder brother could carry on his research in homeo undisturbed and younger brother with his studies, in Mannanam. Give and take was her policy and this along with her pleasing nature earned her the loyalty and friendship of all those who worked under her. According to her, the Kunnel family for rendering some worthy service to the royalty, was rewarded with many pandaravaka properties, karinilam and such other things which necessitated regular work to maintain them, besides the routine work involved in the house. She started inspecting first the medical preparations carried out under a pandal on one side of the house and since she was quite familiar with the ola grandhams, both the undertakers and she could understand each other and after giving them her instructions, she proceeded to the kitchen to inspect the food, breakfast and lunch being prepared for the workers. Her trusted servants, Isabella, Karambi and Shanku took care of everything concerned. As it was harvest time, each family stacked away their kattas in the particular spaces allotted to them in the pandal made for that purpose and while they worked on it, they sang loud, told stories and cracked jokes. I was wonder struck with everything. On moonlit nights working women gathered to make ropes when it was urgently needed for either the thatching of the house or for the fence and Valiyachy usually entertained them with stories from Marthandavarma, Thennali Raman, Mayavilasam and so on. Of course they were paid according to their work. There was a special shed where on thick mats men and women were served their breakfast and lunch on fresh plantain leaves and it was a very pleasant sight to watch them enjoy their food. Shanku almost always supervised the serving entrusted to Patchu and Karambi, while he himself served the main items. Isabella’s concern was to keep the serving vessels replenished. I counted at least twenty any day. Long vacation at their maternal home was a happy and grand occasion all the grandchildren of the family looked forward to and knowing it very well Valiyachy was always prepared for it. She got her special working women to prepare all sorts of sweetmeats, chutneys and pickles, beforehand as there was no lack of ingredients in the house. A treat which all the children looked forward to was baking a cake in the home style as bakeries had not come into existence then. Valiyachy was always inclined to help. Under her guidance and Shanku’s help a day was fixed for it. Early morning everyone got up and along with Shanku collected enough toddy from our toddy tappers, who were informed of it the previous day. At about midmorning, we made a dough with rice flour and toddy and kept it aside to ferment. In the meanwhile, we went about collecting the necessary items required. A mixture beaten out of eggs, butter, honey, crushed cashew nuts and spices was added to it. The batter was then placed into four square packets, strengthened by more layers and the top ones stitched up intact. Into a square pit heated gravel was filled half way and over it the four packets were neatly arranged. Another amount of heated gravel was then emptied on it and a slow fire of coconut husk was kept burning steadily for three hours and then put out. Early morning, the packets were taken out and kept to cool. When sliced, it was taken to our grandmother who tasted it and said it was delicious, followed by our grandfather who also testified to its taste and then there were shouts of joy and laughter and both Valiyachy and Kochachy and our uncles along with the rest had a share of it, as if it were a real ceremony. The sharing part of it was the heart and soul of the occasion and everyone wished it to occur the next year also.

       Valiyachy seemed to have endless work to do. Uncle David was in our thekini along with his Brahmin friends, most of whom were his classmates, doing research work in homeo and were consulting foreign books together. Uncle Saya joined them since it was vacation for him and Valiyachy did not want to disturb them at all. The whole morning they indulged in their studies. Work in fields, starting with ploughing, sowing, weeding and manuring, reaping, threshing, drying etc., were looked after by her with her henchmen to help her. Before the male members of the family, as was the custom, Kochappy, the leader, measured out the dried paddy for the Kunnel ara in the sing song way it was carried out “poliva poli onne”, “poliva poli rande” and so on. The henchmen carried the measured paddy in fine baskets and emptied them into the ara. The eleventh poli was heaped separate for the workmen, as present to them. Coconuts as land produce, likewise, were cropped from different places every two months, husked and sold to regular buyers after deducting the tenant’s dues. The process of converting coconuts cropped from the house premises into copra was undertaken in the vacant area marked by white sand on the eastern front of the house. The oil extracted from this copra was entirely for our domestic use as well as for Ayurvedic preparations of medicated oils. The process of converting it into oil was undertaken by the two brothers, Vareed and Mathai and their families who had their own devices to extract oil and who were our tenants. They undertook the work of extracting oil from copra for all the branches of the Kunnel family in addition. Works such as watering, manuring, digging around the coconut trees, to maintain them while rearing younger coconut plants separate were also considered routine and were attended to without fail.

       According to Valiyachy there were three celebrities in Manakodam or Thuravoor then. One was Govinda Kartha of Kanjirapally, honoured with the use of sword to maintain justice among the Nair community. The second was the leader of the Pai family of Kalathiparambil in the Thirumala Dewaswom Temple area with the honour of thooku. The third was KunnelVaidyan honoured with the use of thokku. These kollum kolayum methods were instituted by old Naduvazhies, and had gradually lost importance, but the names stuck. Uncle David kept the gun and the license for a long time, but when he moved away from the Kunnel house, he submitted it to the authorities concerned.

       Onam was celebrated with great pomp and splendour, especially because it was my grandfathers birthday as well. GovindaKartha paid a visit to him early in the morning to greet him for his birthday as he was also his family physician. He was received at our thekini. Fresh tender coconuts were brought in and were partaken of by both. At mid-morning Kalathiparamban also came to greet him and our hospitality was extended to him as well. This continued without fail until situations changed politically.

       As far as Onam was concerned onakazhcha was a must then. People from far and near came with fruits, vegetables, tubers, beetle leaves with tobacco and other eatable to greet grandfather, our workers as well as tenants included. According to the custom prevalent then, they were given a particular amount of puthen in return. Preparations for a grand Onam sadhya were made the previous day, undertaken by all the members of our family, as well as our kitchen workers and henchmen. Early morning they went home, had their bath and arrayed in their new dresses and ornaments and with all the members of their family arrived at lunch time. Our grandfather before all the members of our family distributed presents each of them, which Valiyachy had managed to buy and keep for them. In the shed they were served a sumptuous meal along with many of us. As Onam entertainments were arranged at Plavemkathara, where I had a friend, Pankajakshy, we children, along with our Achies hurried there. We were welcomed by Pankajakshy and her family. She was only a grand-daughter of the family while her mother, grandmother and aunties were quite friendly with my aunts, since they were immediate neighbours. The items presented were group singing, kolattam, kaikottikali and thumpithullal, by all our workers. There was also a drama about “Sathyavan and Savithry”. Off and on I slipped away with Pankajakshy to enjoy their oonjal to my heart’s content. In between, sweets and tender coconuts were served to us. We had a grand time there, first of its kind, and first Onam was celebrated thus.

       A celebration witnessed and partaken by the Vypinites just before the small pox epidemic in Vypeen, was the wedding ceremony of my step sister, Mary, under strange circumstances. My grandfather Thomman had sent his youngest son, Joseph for Priesthood studies in Goa and managed his business with his three older sons. Andhi the eldest was married to Evadosya, the second out of the three daughters of KurishinkalPethru of Arthinkal and had a son, Thomman, his grandfather’s namesake, but soon after, Andhi passed away. Kochuvarkey the next, his father’s right hand man along with Gabriel the third, managed their family business of trade by promoting regular crops of coconuts, aracanuts and pepper, from their immediate lands, paddy from their fields in Murukkumpadam, Ochanthuruthy and Narakkal and also took care of their China nets or cheena vala seen in a line on their part of the sea-shore given on rent. At this juncture, Thomman had an accidental fall which made him lame for life and so Joseph was called back, just when he had but one more year to complete and become a priest. At the same time he had to make his annual visit to the Cochin Raja as was the custom then. Reckoning him as one of the progeny of the Gowda Saraswath Brahmins of yore, who were held in great esteem by his ancestors, the Raja took pity on his lame condition and straightaway conferred upon him the right to manage the Vypeen Ferry, which he humbly accepted. Kochuvarkey took it over at once and managed it efficiently by engaging enough rowing boats and men, to his father’s great satisfaction. Feeling his end was near the father persuaded his sons to get married. Consequently, Kochuvarkey married Marykutty, daughter of Janjikutty of Karumancherry ,Ezhupunnah and Gabriel married Mariakutty, the youngest of the two daughters of George Parakattil, Pallithode. Since their father passed away shortly afterwards, both the brothers sold their property in Vypeen and joined their wives in their places. As far as Joseph was concerned it was the first time he had to shoulder responsibilities, but he tried his best to learn things fast. As his father had already fixed his marriage with Evadosya, daughter of Kurishinkal Sebastian of Chettikaud, Alleppey, he married her in 1896, and had children. During their childhood, a young man named Simon Cheriyaparambil approached Joseph for help in his studies as he had heard that Joseph used to help many who were really needy. Not only did Joseph help him to complete his studies but also gave him some job under him. Gradually he became a frequent visitor in the house and Joseph and his wife were fond of him. When Mary their eldest daughter was eight years old, her mother passed away and her grandmother, a few months afterwards. Mary was then sent to the convent at Kattiparambil to be educated to become a nun as per her parent’s vow and Lucy, the second, was taken away by her grandparents to be brought up along with them. Soon after a marriage proposal was brought for Joseph by his wife’s maternal relations in Manakodam, Thuravoor. The girl was Prescilia, daughter of KunnelLonan Pillai Jaco, who was the famous Ayurvedic physician there. Joseph took Simon along to see the girl and they say the bride’s sisters mistook Simon for the bridegroom which made a joke among them. A week before the marriage took place, Simon left for Persia for a job which Joseph had procured for him. In her ten years life at Valiyaveed in Vypeen, Prescilia had Annie and me, Francis, Andrew and the baby girl who took away her dear life. I do not have to give any more details here as everything has been explained earlier.

       With the intention of marrying his benefactor’s daughter, Mary, who was already a nun in the convent at Kattiparambil, Simon returned from Persia in 1928. Annie and I had seen her in her nun’s dress in the convent when father took us there to see her soon after our First Holy Communion in 1927. She looked like an angel to us standing at the top of the stairs with a smile on her face before she stepped down to meet us which we may never forget as long as we live. Accompanied by father and uncle Gabriel, who was also her godfather, Simon visited the Mother Superior of the convent, an Italian nun and after hours of discussions she agreed to release Mary as it was prior to her final vow and was taken straightaway to Pallithode. The next time we saw her, she was in her bridal attire, sitting in a chair in the Vypeen church along with her godparents, relatives and invitees, waiting for the bridegroom to arrive. After the wedding ceremony, there was a grand lunch for everyone, served in the pandal put up at Valiyaveedu, which lasted till late in the evening. Since my father was always very friendly with the tenants, he had seen that all of them had partaken in it, without fail. Throughout the night there were entertainments, chavittunadakam included, and refreshments were served for everyone. Soon after Simon left his bride as a paying guest in the Cochin convent and returned to Persia. He procured and sent visas for both his wife and her maid Eliya, one of the three daughters of our old Bastian and they joined him duly. Mary was remembered as ‘manavatty Mary’ by all those who knew her in the convent and around. How could the Vypinites forget this incident but I wonder if any of them are alive now.

       Now, back at Kunnel, amidst the busy environments that I have been recounting, one more event is clearly remembered, the ten days festival of the Saraswath Brahmins, (not the ‘Gowda’ Saraswaths as in Vypeen) at their temple in Arthi. My aunty had a widowed friend from among them visiting her very often and now that my sister Aanie had joined the Thirumala Devaswom High School, the mothers of some of her friends also started visiting the Kunnel House. I have already mentioned how uncle David spent his morning hours with his Brahmin friends and classmates who were interested in homeo, discussing it in our thekini, while he was doing research and studies on it. As there were no entertainments around, as in our time, everyone was looking forward for a break in the monotony of their lives during the annual temple festival. At the break of the day, fireworks were heard at the temple gate which announced the feast. Simultaneously on a large high stage fixed with gas light and loud speakers in the temple premises, religious songs were started. At night beyond the limit reserved for the Saraswaths, the public with their families and friends sat on their mats and watched the variety shows and dramas throughout the night. They never missed any of it as long as it lasted. It was a real enjoyment for them. The Saraswaths who lived around invited their friends and relations from their neighbouring places for this cultural gathering of theirs which was their due entertainment at least once a year. They were served sumptuous meals in the newly built shed in the temple yard for that purpose. As a rule, the Devaswom committee collected for the occasion from the Kunnel family their contribution of paddy and coconuts along with vegetables such as cucumber, pumpkin, kumbalam etc, as well as fruits like watermelon and plantains, fresh from the summer crops of their immediate fields. Other branches of the family and others who could afford it, contributed their share. On certain days they sent a portion of their preparations as a token of friendship which surprised me to a great extent.

       Along with the undertakers who decorated the temple road towards the south, the public who were free, volunteered to help to make it extra grand. The Kunnel family was invited and both the Achies along with the children were given a special elevated place from where we could watch everything easily. The procession consisted of decorated elephants on the lead, accompanied by vadyamelam, deities carried on rathams, poojaries attendence and so on. At certain places, elephants were stopped to take para as was the custom. When the procession reached its destination in the south, fireworks were heard and after performing some ceremonies there, turned back towards the north. As per legends, it was there that their manakkoottam existed a long long time ago from which the word manakkoottam was derived, and since the place is still called Manakodam, the legend still stands. Gradually, for a better and safer environment, they moved to the north and settled down at the ThirumalaBhagam close to the temple. By and by the procession was limited to the temple premises, may be due to political changes. When uncle David had to vacate the tharavad, he married a cousin of his in his advanced age and shifted to his new house built in one of his own properties, much more nearer to his Brahmin friends and to the very last, maintained his friendship with them. He also remained a vegetarian throughout. Years back, Oommachan, the eldest son of uncle Sayu and a retired professor in Zoology at St.Michael’s College in Chertallay visited us at our ‘Lily Lynne’ Statue Road, along with his wife Achamma, Professor of Botany, at St.Teresa’s College in Ernakulam. When they came to know that I was writing a book on ‘Vypeen History’, revealed to me a tradition prevalent among some of the Saraswath Brahmins in his place from a long, long time ago. It happened that the much-revered idol from their temple was feared to be stolen and their chief manoeuvred a secret device by which it was hidden in the Kunnelara the safest place, for three days and nights which ended successfully to their credit. Hence, their regard, concern and friendship for the family of Kunnel.

       Now, back to the busy life I was involved in, under Valiyachy as the centre of it. As expected, one fine morning in early June my father came to fetch me. Since my grandparents had undertaken the entire responsibility of both Aanie and Andrew after my mother’s demise, my father never wanted to thrust me also on them. Grandfather never wanted to send me away, now that I was alone in life and was in bitter tears, but my father explained to him how some Jesuits who had studied with him for priesthood in Goa had started a boarding school in a convent in Chathiyath and for both cousin Augusta, uncle Gabriel’s daughter and me, he had already procured admission in the preparatory class there. Some girls from Eeressery in Chellanum related to cousin Augusta had already been studying there. After exacting a promise from my father that he would bring me to him every mid summer vacation he let me go and my father always kept his promise.